''The Menace'' is a 1928 Australian
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
about the drug trade in Sydney. It is considered a
lost film
A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress.
Conditions
During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...
.
[Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, 143.]
Production
Sydney businessman Percy Juchau formed a film company in August 1926. It employed five people who had experience working in Hollywood – director Cyril Sharpe, camera technician Al True, crew members Al True and Eric Wilkinson, and Louise Miller. This was the only movie they made.
It was shot in late 1926 and early 1927 at the
Sydney Showground.
Release
The film was previewed but not released commercially. It was viewed by a film critic from the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' who criticised it for "unhealthy sensationalism".
After filming, Cyril Sharpe left Juchau and became managing director of Commonwealth Film Laboratories in Sydney, with Jack Bruce as his chief technician.
References
External links
*
''The Menace''at
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...
1928 films
Australian silent feature films
Australian black-and-white films
1928 drama films
Lost Australian films
1928 lost films
Lost drama films
Silent Australian drama films
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